Nuclear Receptors and Cancer Research:
Current Trends and Applications

Dr. Vanden Heuvel is a recognized expert in the field of nuclear receptor biology and toxicology with over 100 peer-reviewed publications. In addition to his role as CSO at INDIGO, Dr. Vanden Heuvel is a Professor at Penn State University where he is Program Coordinator of the undergraduate Toxicology Program, Co-Director of the Center of Excellence in Nutrigenomics and leads an extramurally funded research program.

Dr. Patterson is the Smith Professor and Professor of Molecular Toxicology at the Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA and is the Scientific Director of Metabolomics. He holds joint appointments in the department of veterinary and biomedical sciences and the department of biochemistry and molecular biology. He and his students, postdocs and collaborators focus on understanding the host-metabolite-microbiota communication network — specifically how the manipulation of gut microbiota by diet and/or xenobiotics impacts host metabolites, their metabolism and how these co-metabolites interact with host ligand-activated transcription factors. The lab employs a variety of tools, including NMR- and mass spectrometry-based metabolomics, genomics and conventional and gnotobiotic transgenic mice, to facilitate its study of these pathways and understand their impact on human health and disease.

Dr. Perdew is the H. Thomas & Dorothy Willits Hallowell Chair and Professor of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences in the College of Agricultural Sciences at Penn State University. He is also the Director of the Center for Molecular Toxicology and Carcinogenesis. Dr. Perdew studies how the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) pathway interacts with the microbiome, the immune system and protective barriers in skin and the gut. His team was the first to identify the protein subunit composition of the AhR and has made major contributions in the comparison of the human and mouse AHR and the evolution of the AHR in primates. He has over 100 publications that have been cited thousands of times, and in 2017, Dr. Perdew received a NIEHS Revolutionizing Innovative, Visionary Environmental Health Research (RIVER) Outstanding Investigator Award for his integrative research and leadership in the field.

Dr. Peters is a Distinguished Professor of Molecular Toxicology and Carcinogenesis at Penn State University, and the Deputy Director of the Penn State Cancer Institute. Dr. Peters has performed seminal research focused on the biological role of the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) with particular interest in PPARβ/δ. Studies from his group have shown that the hepatocarcinogenic effect of PPARα agonists requires a functional PPARα. His more recent research is focused on elucidating functional roles of PPARβ/δ in disease, with particular interest in epithelial cancers.

Dr. Prabhu is the Head of the Department of Veterinary and Biomedical Sciences and Professor of Immunology and Molecular Toxicology at Penn State University. The research conducted in Dr. Prabhu’s laboratory focuses on various cellular and molecular mechanisms by which micronutrients such as selenium and other products of natural origin alter the host response and immune function in response to oxidative stress caused by environmental toxicants and pathogens. Current research includes work into bioactive compounds of natural origin as anti-inflammatory and anti-carcinogenic agents, isolation and characterization of endogenous ligands for the peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPARs) and the anti-inflammatory effects of selenium.